EU now trains guns on Intel for abusive trade practices
The European Commission wants to stop what it considers abusive trade practices by US microchip giant Intel, a German press report said on Wednesday.
By Agencies |
FRANKFURT: The European Commission wants to stop what it considers abusive trade practices by US microchip giant Intel, a German press report said on Wednesday.
The office of European Union Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has gathered evidence on alleged abuse of Intel���s dominant market position and the European Union���s executive arm was expected to establish its position within a few months, the ���Financial Times Deutschland��� reported.
The commission feels that Intel, which covers about 80% of the global market for micro processors, paid commissions to some computer equipment makers to use Intel chips rather than choosing its rival brand AMD, the daily said.
Intel allegedly paid companies to delay or suspend the launch of products using AMD chips, and offered products for less then the cost of production, the report said.
It added that Intel could face a fine of up to 10% of annual sales, or around e2.6 billion ($4.1 billion).
Officials at the European Commission were not immediately available for comment on the report.
The office of European Union Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has gathered evidence on alleged abuse of Intel���s dominant market position and the European Union���s executive arm was expected to establish its position within a few months, the ���Financial Times Deutschland��� reported.
The commission feels that Intel, which covers about 80% of the global market for micro processors, paid commissions to some computer equipment makers to use Intel chips rather than choosing its rival brand AMD, the daily said.
Intel allegedly paid companies to delay or suspend the launch of products using AMD chips, and offered products for less then the cost of production, the report said.
It added that Intel could face a fine of up to 10% of annual sales, or around e2.6 billion ($4.1 billion).
Officials at the European Commission were not immediately available for comment on the report.
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If such a fine was levied, it would be one of the biggest ever by the EU Commission, which fined US software giant Microsoft a record 899 million euros for failing to respect another antitrust ruling.Download
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